Appropriate security measures now in place for APEC – AFP

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that appropriate security measures have already been prepared for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Metro Manila this November.

“We are already prepared to host and appropriate security measures have been put in place already,” AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla said in a message to the PNA.

He added that the military security blanket will stay until the successful conclusion of the event.

“It will stay that way until the conclusion of the APEC,” Padilla stressed.

The APEC Leaders’ Meeting is scheduled from Nov. 17 to 20.

Earlier, the AFP’s Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) announced it is now conducting drills to prepare themselves for the so-called “CBRNE” threat or chemical biological radiological nuclear and explosives risk.

JTF-NCR deputy commander Col. Vic Tomas said that exercises to deal with this threat is part of their “full spectrum risk management preparedness protocols.”

Ongoing now are drills and rehearsals to ensure that their units can respond to any eventualities quickly and efficiently.

“(Ongoing now are) continuous coordination, rehearsal, testing of capabilities of (various) task units and of course, how fast we can respond to any crisis situations,” Tomas stressed.

The AFP’s CBRNE capability got a boost last September with the donation of USD1-million worth of CBRNE equipment.

The equipment is sufficient to equip a platoon of specialized troops.

Soldiers or those trained in dealing with CBRNE would be the first responders should threats arise from these types of weapons.

“They are highly trained and they basically are mobile. We have the equipment as you see. It can be transported either by land through the M-35 and if it is required to other islands in other parts of the country, it can be transported through the C-130s,” the AFP said. PNA